1. Field of the Invention
The present invention generally relates to online testing. More specifically, the present invention concerns maintaining the security of a computing device in an online test taking environment.
2. Description of the Related Art
Tests are used to determine the ability of a test taker (e.g., a student or prospective practitioner) as it pertains to proficiency in a particular subject or skill set. For example, a student might take a test to determine whether the student possesses the requisite knowledge in a particular subject that might be related to receiving a degree or certificate. A prospective practitioner in law or medicine might similarly sit for examination to determine their competence as it pertains practicing in that profession.
Every student has at some point taken a test whereby a class of approximately 30 students assembles in a classroom prior to the posted test time. Testing materials are then handed out and the test begins. During the allotted test time—usually an hour to 90 minutes—students read questions and provide answers on a provided answer sheet or in a ‘blue book.’ As students take the test, the teacher or a proctor keeps careful watch over the test takers to ensure that no instances of cheating are taking place.
While a single proctor proves useful for a small class of students, such observation becomes more difficult for a larger class size. This might be true in a college environment, for example, where a particular degree or discipline has certain ‘core’ classes taken by all students seeking a particular degree or studying within a particular college. It is not unusual for a first year mathematics or chemistry course to have upwards of 150 students sitting for a single examination. In orderly to effectively prevent instances of cheating, several proctors must be utilized to keep watch over the student test takers.
This problem has become even more pronounced as an increased number of students take examinations on a laptop computer. A proctor once only needed to keep a watch for a test taker slipping out an obvious ‘cheat sheet’ or looking over the shoulder of a neighboring test taker. Test takers can now store notes or other information related to an examination in a file accessible on their desktop. Test takers can easily and quietly access that illicit information during the examination. The test taker can quickly close out the file as a proctor moves about the room or even delete the file in its entirety thus eliminating any proof that cheating ever took place. Built in wireless cards and pervasive wireless networks also allow test takers with easy access to the Internet or other remote sources of information.
As the number of test takers increases, so does the need for additional proctors. Tests such as college entrance examinations may be offered on a nationwide network with multiple testing sites all offering the examination on a single date. An example of a ‘nationwide’ examination is the SAT Reasoning Test. In 2006, the SAT Reasoning Test was, over the course of the year, taken by almost 1.5 million prospective college students. Another example of a large scale examination is the Multistate Bar Examination (MBE). In 2007, the MBE was taken by almost 75,000 prospective attorneys in 53 different jurisdictions.
The ‘high stakes’ nature of the examination (i.e., potential college admission or the ability to practice law) creates a greater motivation for cheating. Due to the increased risk of cheating and the large number of students at each testing site, multiple proctors must be utilized at each site. If the test happens to be a time intensive examination—as is the case with both the SAT Reasoning Test and the MBE, which are both approximately 3 hours in length—then even more proctors are needed to ‘relieve’ one another for respites. The concerns raised by the use of laptop computers and the remote or illicit access to information only scales as does the number of test takers.
Even without the complications proffered by a laptop computer, proctoring an examination, too, is a significant logistical task in the case of a large examination. Offering an examination and proctoring the same first requires locating eligible proctors (i.e., trustworthy individuals without a personal stake in the outcome of any given test taker) and determining their availability (i.e., can they be available to proctor the examination on a given date and time). Once eligible proctors are determined to be available, those proctors must then be trained or oriented with respect to the particulars of the examination or advised as to how to properly administer the examination (e.g., testing protocols, observing signs of cheating, confront the misbehaving test taker, and addressing potential test taker questions). Proctors must then be scheduled in the appropriate number at each testing site and then properly compensated for their time and efforts. In some instances, the costs involved with proctoring an examination may rival or exceed the costs related to actually preparing the examination.
Other tests are offered in the context of ‘distance learning.’ Distance learning is an instructional model that delivers education material and information to students who are not physically ‘on site’ at an educational facility. Distance learning creates and provides access to learning when the source of the information and the student are separated by time, distance, of both. Thousands of distance learners may be involved in a particular distance learning program or course at any given time.
Like any other educational program, there is a need to verify the qualifications of students through testing and examination. Because distance learners are not collectively gathered at a physical learning institution such as a university, the distance learning program requires that the students attend a testing center—which challenges the very purpose of distance learning—or administer an examination online. An online examination is difficult to proctor as a user could be taking an examination in one window of a web browser while looking up answers in another window via the Internet. A test taker could also utilize a ‘chat’ or ‘messaging’ application to relay questions to and receive answers from a knowledgeable third-party. The value of online examinations is, therefore, questionable and calls into question the overall value of the corresponding class or degree program.
There is a need in the art for improved proctoring of large scale examinations such that a small number of proctors can properly secure a test taking environment notwithstanding the large number of test takers. There is a similar need for remote proctoring of examinations. Remote proctoring, like on-site massed proctoring, would maintain the integrity of the testing environment by preventing test takers from accessing illicit information to aid in the completion of the examination.